Promise to America: Moderate Democrats Push Back Against Socialism

A small but organized group of Democrats is pushing back against socialism and the growing influence of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) within their party. Fifteen lawmakers and candidates have now signed a “Promise to America.”

The initiative comes against the backdrop of three DSA-backed New York congressional candidates sweeping Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary election. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies (D-NY) endorsed the losing incumbents in two of those races: Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Rep. Dan Goldman (NY-10). The third candidate, Claire Valdez, won an open seat. The New York sweep came after democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George won the June 18 primary election for mayor of Washington, DC. Lewis George’s victory marks a stark contrast to retiring – and moderate – Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Promise to America

The six core principles in the Promise to America almost read like a MAGA manifesto:

“We are capitalist, not socialist. We want safety, not lawlessness. We are responsible, not reckless. We believe government should solve problems, not create them. We are mainstream, not extreme. We are proud, not ashamed of America.”

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) on Friday appeared on FOX & Friends to explain:

“There are certain things that I believe in, that are not being reflected in the current environment, especially with some of these races on Tuesday. As we said in our pledge…we’re for capitalism, not socialism. We’re for safety, not lawlessness. We’re proud of America, not ashamed of America – and we need to be promoting those things….The far left and the far right, you know, they’re all very well organized. But those of us that don’t support those far left or far right principles, need to do a better job organizing and getting our message out.”

So far, the signers are Reps. Adam Gray (D-CA), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Don Davis (D-NC), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Janelle Bynum (D-OR), Vicente Gonzales (D-TX), and Susie Lee (D-NV), joined by candidates Paul Barringer and Jamie Ager of North Carolina, Marlene Galán-Woods of Arizona, Bobby Pulido of Texas, and Colorado’s Jessica Killin. Could this organized group bring a return of the old-school Democrats? Before the Promise to America initiative, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the most vocal regarding his opposition to the extreme – and equally vocal – socialist wing of his party.

“The kind of people that they’re trying to run out of office, I mean, they’re just good, traditional kind of Democrats you would have expected in New York City now. And now, this has just become, really, it’s just been the dancing days of the dirtbag left, you know, with some of these candidates are outrageous,” Fetterman told FOX News before the primary was called. “You know, you have candidates, they abolish ICE, abolish police, abolish the border. And [candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier] even said, ‘F Kamala Harris,’ and more of these outrageous kinds of things. And then you have like Mamdani. He was grieving – Hamas sniper was killed by Israel just the other day – and he was grieving that…These are emerging the full pro-Hamas wing, you know, a lot of these candidates that very likely are going to win tonight, just declaring a war on just regular Democrats.”

Fetterman went on to say that hating Israel and antisemitism have become the center of many of the primaries across the US, particularly in New York City. But as Liberty Nation News’ own Tim Donner pointed out recently, the socialists haven’t suddenly appeared in the Democratic Party, nor are they strangers to antisemitism. They’ve been here the whole time.

By contrast, the reaction from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) – the highest-ranking Jewish elected politician in US history – has been more muted. Schumer on Wednesday told the New York Post:

“We’re seeing tremendous energy from all different areas of our party. You’re seeing centrist energy in Virginia, Iowa, and NJ. Progressive energy in NYC. We’re going to harness it all to win in November. Because all Democrats are united in the mission to take back the Senate and defeat Trump.”

The DSA national electoral tracker and chapter reports say it has an “ambitious electoral agenda in 2026,” with roughly 150 endorsed candidates in the 2026 elections for Congress, governorships, and state legislatures. So far, they’ve been able to win in deep-blue districts, but they have yet to be tested in more competitive areas. The Promise to America initiative is focused on House members and congressional races. Reps. Suozzi and Adam Gray (D-CA) are leading the initiative and reportedly recruiting more signers. It’s a move that could ignite more pushback against socialism within party leadership. But don’t hold your breath.